Social Networks vs. Traditional Organization: Which is Better for Changing the World?

There have been several revolutionary events in recent history whose success has been attributed to social networks, but would these movements have been successful without them?

Can Social Networks Change the World?

According to Malcolm Gladwell, author of Small Change: Why the Revolution Will Not Be Tweeted, “high-risk activism” cannot be successful with the “weak ties” of social networks. Instead, he argues that the “strong ties” of relationships with close friends encourage people to take part in this kind of activism.

Civil Rights Movement Successful Because of Close Connections

Gladwell cites the success of the Civil Rights Movement as an example of close friends coming together and making change happen. He explains in great detail some of the violence that those who participated had to endure and argues that these close connections encouraged them to keep fighting, even when they were in very dangerous situations.

Social Networks Take Advantage of Close Connections

Although Gladwell has a point, social networks can take advantage of close connections. Even though people can be Facebook friends with people they barely know, chances are that they're also Facebook friends with their true friends.

Sharing a Cause

If someone wants to talk about a cause, they can do this on Facebook, and if their close friends support it, they can share it with their close friends, and before too long, everyone will be talking about it. This is what made the Civil Rights movement successful. Four friends got together and planned the first sit-in, and this stirred things up. Eventually, other people found out about the cause and wanted to support it by joining in the movement. Social networks can take advantage of both types of connections.

Social Networks Have Heart Factor, Despite Claims

Gladwell argues that “activism that challenges the status quo, that attacks deeply-rooted problems, is not for the faint of heart” and that causes fought for through social networks have no heart factor. After all, little to no effort is required to like a Facebook page or follow someone on Twitter. This may be true, but that doesn’t mean that everyone who likes a Facebook page or follows someone on Twitter is doing so for no reason.

Average People Now Able to Support Important Causes

While there will be some people who focus their efforts on the high-risk aspects of a cause, there will be people who whole-heartedly support it but find their own way of contributing. There will always be people who sign up to support a cause with good intensions but who might not be able to participate in the high-risk aspects of supporting it. However, with social networks, everyone who signs up to support a cause can participate in their own way, even if they only like the Facebook page and share it with their friends.

Social Networks Only Used for Trivial Causes?

Gladwell claims that social networks can only be used for “helping Wall Streeters get cell phones back from teenage girls” and that these same networks cannot be used to change the world. If nothing else, they can get people talking about a cause. If the social network presence of a cause cannot change the world by itself, it will get people talking about it and organizing to challenge the status quo.

Social Networks Play Important Role in Spurring Change

Social networks have a place in initiating social change, despite Gladwell’s claims. They played a role in the revolutions in Egypt and Iran, and they will continue to have influence on social issues in the future. Although Gladwell makes some good points about the weaknesses that these networks can have, this doesn’t mean that social networks have no place in getting people to organize around a cause. They can get people thinking and talking about the cause, and everyone can participate and support it in their own way.

Social Networks and Traditional Organization can Integrate Lunch Counters

There are still “lunch counters that need integrating”, but who says that social networks can’t play a role in the process? Both methods of spurring social change, through strong ties with close friends and through the use of social networks, have strengths by themselves, but a combination of the two can take advantage of both kinds of connections.